Dorchester Historical Society

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1568

Former Dorchester Historical Society board member Marcia Sewall is presenting Fables and Other Work in an exhibition at the Old Schwamb Mill, 17 Mill Lane, Arlington, beginning Saturday, June 18, with an opening reception that day from 2:30-4:30.  You can find a great deal of material about Marcia on the internet.

Today our illustration is a photograph of the monument honoring William T. Morrissey

(Located at the u-turn across from Phillips Candy House)

1897 – 1951

William T. Morrissey Boulevard

Named in memory of Metropolitan District Commissioner

William T. Morrissey

He had an abiding interest in the civic welfare of

his community and a great love for his fellow man.

Throughout a long career in the public service, he

contributed notably to the planning and development

of municipal and metropolitan works and facilities.

Dedicated 1934. Metropolitan District Commission

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1567

In regard to yesterday’s mention of Henry Schwarz, Vicki Rugo wrote:

“From a 1994 newsclip from the Baltimore Sun: Henry Schwarz went into a partnership in a toy store here (in Baltimore) with another German named Schwerdtmann. By 1872 that union was over and Schwarz was off and running on his own. “The assortment is the most complete ever assembled in this city and imported especially for this market,” his Christmas 1873 ad copy stated. After a time, his brothers sailed from Germany and joined him in the business. There were G.A. Schwarz, who opened a store on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia; F.A.O. Schwarz, who chose New York; Richard Schwarz, who traded on Washington Street in Boston.”

And Bob Rugo wrote:

“Richard Schwarz would have been quite well known in Boston in 1910. In December 1907, the Globe carried an article about Jordan Marsh displaying the entire line of his toys which filled their entire 4th floor and overflowed to a new basement level display. He ran his business from a building he owned at 484-486 Washington Street, now part of the site of the new Macy’s (Jordan Marsh) building. He died in 1931 leaving an estate estimated at $1,500,000.”

And John Roberts referred us to

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-12-06/features/0312060025_1_schwarz-toy-store-house-of-toys

Today’s illustration is a voucher good for a round-trip ticket on a special train from Old Colony Depot in Boston to Central Avenue, Dorchester, on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons.  Does anyone know why there would be a special train to that part of Dorchester?  Sorry the item is not dated, but it seems to come from a period when trains still ran instead of subways and trolleys.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1566

Today’s illustration is a scan from the Dorchester Blue Book of 1910.  Curious profession, and who was Richard Schwarz?

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1565

First, have you been on Facebook to “like” My Dot Tour yet?

And this from Claire Hughes:

Could you make this announcement? It is for the Garden Tour we are having in the Lower Mills area on Sat June 18th -Garden Tour 4-6pm and Wine Reception and Gardening Demonstration immediately following at Cedar Grove Gardens. We have 7 beautiful residential gardens and 5 commercial areas on the tour. Tickets are $50 with proceed to benefit Dorchester Park’s Maintenance Fund – thesse funds help with cleanup efforts, new plantings and educational events. Tickets can be purchased on the website via Paypal or by check at  www.dotpark.org

And now for today’s illustration–

We have a matchbook cover from the Edward Everett Federal Savings and Loan Association at 1 Stoughton Street.  The building does not yet appear on the atlas maps as of 1933.  Does anyone know when it was built?  And is it still there?

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1564

Here is another interior view of the Wales House circa 1900 showing what seems to be common in these 100+ year-old interior shots—lots of clutter and always a musical instrument.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1563

Returning to the Wales House on Olney Street, today we have a photo of a bedroom about 1900.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1562

Today we interrupt the regular programming with these special announcements:

First – We need your help.  Please go to your Facebook account and find My Dot Tour and like it.  And while you are there, read about this Fields Corner tour now in development.

Second –

350^th Birthday of the Blake House

Saturday, June 25 at 12:30 pm – Birthday Cake and Celebration

If you are from Dorchester or if any of your ancestors at any period were from Dorchester, we need you to participate.

Today’s illustration is the conjectured appearance of the Blake House when it was built in 1661.  Come to the birthday party and learn more.

Friday, June 24, 6 p.m.  First peek at new book about Dorchester Historical Society collections.

Dorchester’s collections: Illustrating a community, 1630-1930.

Cocktails, Book Celebration & Dinner at the Boston Winery: $50 per person; reservation required. For tickets, contact Faith Ferguson, 781-862-8851 or faith@dorchesterdescendants.org.   This is not a fundraiser. We are not making money on this event, but it’s a great opportunity to meet others with a Dorchester connection.

Saturday programs.

Programs:

10AM – 4PM all 3 historic houses will be open for visits:

• The James Blake House, 735 Columbia Road, Dorchester
• The Lemuel Clap House, 199 Boston Street, Dorchester
• The William Clapp House & Barn, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester

(Please note: the Boston Street houses will be closed during Blake party at 12:45 

Dorchester’s North Burial Ground will be open Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.

  “Introduction to genealogy” with Rhonda R. McClure.

Rhonda R. McClure is the Director of Research Services at NEHGS and is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy. She has been a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is author of ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History

 “How to care for your historical artifacts”, with Christine Thomson

Christine Thomson is an independent conservator and consultant in Salem, MA. She has worked for the U.S. State Department and the White House, has treated important examples of American furniture in major museums and private collections, and has been involved as a consultant in a number of historic house renovation projects, including Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Virginia, Stickley’s Craftsman Farms in Morris Town, New Jersey and Castle Hill, a David Adler designed mansion for the Richard Crane family in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Her most recent project was to analyze the paints in the two parlors of the Lee Mansion, in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Saturday, 12:45 p.m.

James Blake House 350^th Birthday Party: 735 Columbia Road at Edward Everett Square

2:00 pm “How to do an oral history” with Virginia Myhaver

(the William Clapp House, 195 Boston Street)

Virginia Myhaver is a Doctoral Candidate in American and New England Studies at Boston University, specializing in 19^th and 20^th century American cultural and social history. She is the recipient of a Smithsonian Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a Mellon C.L.I.R. Fellowship in support of her dissertation, “The New American Revolution: Cultural Politics and the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial.” Virginia (Ginger) wrote a family history of eleven generations of Bettina (Elizabeth) Blake’s family in New England, Four Old New England Families, in 2009.

Open Houses at the Blake House (1661), Lemuel Clap House (1633/1767), William Clapp House (1806), and Clapp Family Barn (c.1850)

All events are free and open to the public, and take place at 195 Boston Street, unless otherwise noted.

Please see the websites for questions about handicap accessibility.

For more information about the Dorchester Descendants Project see www.dorchesterdescendants.org and information about the Dorchester Historical Society see  www.dorchesterhistoricalsocietyblog.org

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org

350^th Birthday of the Blake House

and Dorchester Descendants Events

June 21, June 24, June 25

The Dorchester Descendants project is working to locate, contact, and stay connected to descendants of Dorchester families, in Massachusetts, across the U.S. and beyond. We hope to spread the word about the treasures, the historical properties and artifacts belonging to the Dorchester Historical Society. We are eager to connect people who count Dorchester ancestry as part of their family heritage.

Dorchester Historical Society

Anthony Sammarco. On Tuesday, June 21, at 7 p.m., local author Anthony Sammarco will speak about his new book Dorchester: A Compendium. Free and open to the public, at DHS Headquarters, 195 Boston Street. (If you want to buy a copy and ask Anthony to sign it, the cost is $19.99)

Dorchester Descendants Weekend:

Friday and Saturday, June 24 and 25, celebrates the 350^th birthday of the James Blake House (1661), the oldest house in Boston, with a variety of events. A new, illustrated book exploring three centuries of change, continuity, and community in Dorchester will also be introduced.

Friday, June 24, 6 p.m.  First peek at new book about Dorchester Historical Society collections.

Dorchester’s collections: Illustrating a community, 1630-1930.

Cocktails, Book Celebration & Dinner at the Boston Winery: $50 per person; reservation required. For tickets, contact Faith Ferguson, 781-862-8851 or faith@dorchesterdescendants.org.

Programs:

 – 10AM – 4PM all 3 historic houses will be open for visits:

• The James Blake House, 735 Columbia Road, Dorchester
• The Lemuel Clap House, 199 Boston Street, Dorchester
• The William Clapp House & Barn, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester

(Please note: the Boston Street houses will be closed during Blake party at 12:45) 

Dorchester’s North Burial Ground will be open Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon.

– Saturday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.

 “Introduction to genealogy” with Rhonda R. McClure.

Rhonda R. McClure is the Director of Research Services at NEHGS and is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy. She has been a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is author of ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History

 “How to care for your historical artifacts”, with Christine Thomson

Christine Thomson is an independent conservator and consultant in Salem, MA. She has worked for the U.S. State Department and the White House, has treated important examples of American furniture in major museums and private collections, and has been involved as a consultant in a number of historic house renovation projects, including Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Virginia, Stickley’s Craftsman Farms in Morris Town, New Jersey and Castle Hill, a David Adler designed mansion for the Richard Crane family in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Her most recent project was to analyze the paints in the two parlors of the Lee Mansion, in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

– Saturday, 12:45 p.m.

James Blake House 350^th Birthday Party: 735 Columbia Road at Edward Everett Square

2:00 pm “How to do an oral history” with Virginia Myhaver

(the William Clapp House, 195 Boston Street)

Virginia Myhaver is a Doctoral Candidate in American and New England Studies at Boston University, specializing in 19^th and 20^th century American cultural and social history. She is the recipient of a Smithsonian Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a Mellon C.L.I.R. Fellowship in support of her dissertation, “The New American Revolution: Cultural Politics and the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial.” Virginia (Ginger) wrote a family history of eleven generations of Bettina (Elizabeth) Blake’s family in New England, Four Old New England Families, in 2009.

Open Houses at the Blake House (1661), Lemuel Clap House (1633/1767), William Clapp House (1806), and Clapp Family Barn (c.1850)

All events are free and open to the public, and take place at 195 Boston Street, unless otherwise noted.

Please see the websites for questions about handicap accessibility.

For more information about the Dorchester Descendants Project see www.dorchesterdescendants.org and information about the Dorchester Historical Society see  www.dorchesterhistoricalsocietyblog.org

Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1560

Today’s photo shows Emilie (on left) and Frieda Bethmann.  Frieda was Emily’s daughter.  Frieda built 13 Carruth Street and was the kindergarten principal who went to teach Cleveland’s children in the White House.

In response to Friday’s pictures of the sun porch, people responded as follows

Anthony Sammarco wrote: “It’s actually looking in the same direction, towards the front of the house. The door, if looking at the facade from Carruth Street, is on the left. The left photo would have the dining room on the left. It’s interesting to see so many toys and doll carriages on the porch; the toy on the far right is in both photos.

Margery Buckingham wrote: “Both photos are in the same orientation with the entrance hall and dining room to the left. The long row of windows faces south. It is interesting to see that the hooks are already on the ceiling. When we lived there I insisted that we paint the ceiling sky blue. Our son David was only three when we moved in so we hung a swing from the hooks. Bill will write the architectural treatise later.”

Bill Buckingham says: In accordance with Margery’s promise, I am chiming in to observe that these views of the sunroom were taken before a wide opening was created between the sunroom and the hall. (This opening is in roughly the same position as the high window in the left-hand wall).  as the the high window in the left-hand wall.) In our day, we also went in for wicker furniture, but we didn’t think of putting oriental rugs on the floor! The ceiling fixtures — obviously electric — show that the the gaslight era was over when the photos were taken. The pipes running along the window wall reveal that the heating had already been changed from hot air to hot water. The hot air ducts are still embedded in the walls: some of the hot water pipes were actually run through them.ition as the the high window in the left-hand wall.) In our day, we also went in for wicker furniture, but we didn’t think of putting oriental rugs on the floor! The ceiling fixtures — obviously electric — show that the the gaslight era was over when the photos were taken. The pipes running along the window wall reveal that the heating had already been changed from hot air to hot water. The hot air ducts are still embedded in the walls: some of the hot water pipes were actually run through them.In our day, we also went in for wicker furniture, but we didn’t think of putting oriental rugs on the floor!  The ceiling fixtures—obviously electric—show that the gaslight era was over when the photos were taken.  The pipes running along the window wall reveal that the heating had already been changed from hot air to hot water.  The hot air ducts are still embedded in the walls: some of the hot water pipes were actually run through them.

Doug Wynne: Especially interesting is Winged Victory guarding the sit-in rocking horse (to the left in the left picture), and the wicker pram led by the wheeled horse (to the right in the right picture).  The row of pots look like geraniums being wintered over.  My wife’s grandmother did the same on her Norwell Street enclosed back porch.  Because the transom window (into one of the rooms we saw earlier in the week?) is open, I’m guessing this is sometime in the spring, when it’s warm enough to heat up the porch and then let in the warmed fresh air, but not yet warm enough to set out the plants.

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The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com

If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org